p.1 #1 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
Highly appreciate your time and inputs!
Some back story - recently dropped my tripod (Benro travel) on stone (granite platform) and that made a major damage to the threads on my ball head. Made it no usable and repairable. Escaped with a no damage to camera and a minor damage to the lens and learned my lesson. If you are thinking I was dumb, you get a pass. It was my first tripod and bought it when I started photography 10 years ago.
I pretty much decided on on tripod (Gitzo), but need help in figuring out ball head or gear head. My requirements are as below.
- Not a professional photographer, advanced amateur.
- Mostly for landscapes & product photography (with tethering). No Astro or Bird & Wildlife (use a tripod with gimbal)
- In build levelling base with panning (don't want to spend on multiple accessories on this)
- Something that can provide me a 90 degree downward movement (for flat top photography)
- Not for heavy gear usage. At most 20 pounds.
My experience with a ball head was, when there are minor adjustments needed its a touch and go. Also there is always some slippage with it. I am not sure if an arca-swiss gear head (a cube) can meet all the requirements. I am willing save and spend on a quality product that can meet all my requirements than buy something in a rush and repent later. Only thing I am not sure about a geared head is, if that allows a 90 degree movement?
If you are using some thing (either a ball head or gear head) that meets all the above requirements, your inputs are highly appreciated.
p.1 #3 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
I have both ball heads and a geared head, and have used the geared head for landscape work on several occasions. I have a Sunwayfoto GH Pro II+ as my geared head (decent, and not too expensive). I have a RRS BH-40 as my main ball head.
The geared head can be really nice for precise framing, and making fine adjustments to composition is really wonderful. However, ultimately, I switched back to my ball head for the vast majority of my shooting simply because of speed. Major position changes take quite a bit of time with a geared head, and this can be especially true if you need to drop it to look down, or something of that sort. For me, the precision was not worth the speed deficit for the most part. I will say that an L-bracket is an absolute necessity when using a geared head. I used it once with one of my smaller cameras that only had a base plate, and it was an absolute nightmare switching between portrait and landscape orientation, so make sure you have L-brackets if you go the geared head route. It is worth noting that the very best geared heads can have releases that allow you to move things faster than just moving through the gearing normally, but things like the Arca-Swiss C1 Cube are also very heavy and very, very expensive.
Now, though I pretty much only use the geared head if I'm specifically doing architectural photography in a serious manner, where I'll bring out my 20mm shift lens. The geared head here makes it trivially easy to ensure straight verticals.
I did get a leveling base for my ball-head, though, as that can come in handy for landscape work where I might want to do a panorama, but I'm on uneven ground. I really enjoyed being able to easily do that with my geared head and it's pano clamp. A high quality ball head should have little to no slippage and should operate very smoothly when making adjustments. It's really the major difference between the good ball heads and the best ball heads. My RRS head has been in use for over 10 years and is still very smooth to operate and locks absolutely rock solid with a 1/4 turn of the locking knob. The friction control is excellent too, and very consistent. I also have a Leofoto BH-30 on my travel tripod, and it is also a pretty good head for the price, but it isn't as smooth as the RRS (it locks very tightly though).
p.1 #4 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
Ripolini wrote:
I have three tripods and three heads, but my most used one is (along with Gitzo Basalt Series-2): https://www.amazon.it/Sunwayfoto-fb-44iiddhi-Testa-sfera-Pano/dp/B00QTIU4OE
I use it for everything (close-ups, landscapes, ...).
My head (FB-44II) doesn't have the panoramic geared clamp, though.
Thank you, I pretty much am going for a Gitzo tripod, but it is about the ball/gear head. Thanks for your time.
p.1 #5 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
Jman13 wrote:
I have both ball heads and a geared head, and have used the geared head for landscape work on several occasions. I have a Sunwayfoto GH Pro II+ as my geared head (decent, and not too expensive). I have a RRS BH-40 as my main ball head.
The geared head can be really nice for precise framing, and making fine adjustments to composition is really wonderful. However, ultimately, I switched back to my ball head for the vast majority of my shooting simply because of speed. Major position changes take quite a bit of time with a geared head, and this can be especially true if you need to drop it to look down, or something of that sort. For me, the precision was not worth the speed deficit for the most part. I will say that an L-bracket is an absolute necessity when using a geared head. I used it once with one of my smaller cameras that only had a base plate, and it was an absolute nightmare switching between portrait and landscape orientation, so make sure you have L-brackets if you go the geared head route. It is worth noting that the very best geared heads can have releases that allow you to move things faster than just moving through the gearing normally, but things like the Arca-Swiss C1 Cube are also very heavy and very, very expensive.
Now, though I pretty much only use the geared head if I'm specifically doing architectural photography in a serious manner, where I'll bring out my 20mm shift lens. The geared head here makes it trivially easy to ensure straight verticals.
I did get a leveling base for my ball-head, though, as that can come in handy for landscape work where I might want to do a panorama, but I'm on uneven ground. I really enjoyed being able to easily do that with my geared head and it's pano clamp. A high quality ball head should have little to no slippage and should operate very smoothly when making adjustments. It's really the major difference between the good ball heads and the best ball heads. My RRS head has been in use for over 10 years and is still very smooth to operate and locks absolutely rock solid with a 1/4 turn of the locking knob. The friction control is excellent too, and very consistent. I also have a Leofoto BH-30 on my travel tripod, and it is also a pretty good head for the price, but it isn't as smooth as the RRS (it locks very tightly though).
Thanks for your detailed reply. Yes, agreed with the L-bracket. I forgot to mention in my OP, that was the one that took most of the brunt and saved my camera. This time I am going with RRS L-bracket.
I was afraid someone might say what you said, about the geared head and speed of operations. Also, if 90 degree movement is not possible, that is out of my options. Do you mind sharing, what kind of levelling base that you used for your ball head?
Sreedhar
p.1 #6 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
90 degree movement is possible - it just takes forever. With my head, you have to pull out the crank knob and just go to town...probably 15-20 seconds to go from level to straight down, considering other adjustments. While that isn't a lot of time, doing it multiple times in one shoot gets very tedious. Most adjustments tended to be somewhat small, and it is definitely usable in the field, but quick adjustments are not really much of a thing with a geared head. They are definitely more deliberate, especially when you consider every movement requires a different knob to adjust. An adjustment that might take 3-5 seconds with a ball head might take you 20 seconds to get everything positioned where you want with a geared head. If you're being really careful on each axis - it can be even longer. That said, very fine adjustments are faster with the geared head because you're only making small tweaks.
My leveling base is the SUNWAYFOTO LB-68. It's fine. I'm sure there are smoother locking ones, but it does the job. If I were buying one now I'd probably get the Leofoto LB-60N or LB-75 (depending on head size)....I really like their stuff.
p.1 #9 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
Be advised, many ball heads creep slightly when the locking knob/lever is tightened. So although you align everything just right when you go to lock it down to prevent movement there may be slight shift.
Many gear heads have quick disconnects so gross movement is fast getting you to the approximate position, the fine control knob does the tweaking for accuracy.
p.1 #10 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
Jman13 wrote:
90 degree movement is possible - it just takes forever. With my head, you have to pull out the crank knob and just go to town...probably 15-20 seconds to go from level to straight down, considering other adjustments. While that isn't a lot of time, doing it multiple times in one shoot gets very tedious. Most adjustments tended to be somewhat small, and it is definitely usable in the field, but quick adjustments are not really much of a thing with a geared head. They are definitely more deliberate, especially when you consider every movement requires a different knob to adjust. An adjustment that might take 3-5 seconds with a ball head might take you 20 seconds to get everything positioned where you want with a geared head. If you're being really careful on each axis - it can be even longer. That said, very fine adjustments are faster with the geared head because you're only making small tweaks.
My leveling base is the SUNWAYFOTO LB-68. It's fine. I'm sure there are smoother locking ones, but it does the job. If I were buying one now I'd probably get the Leofoto LB-60N or LB-75 (depending on head size)....I really like their stuff. ...Show more →
Thank you. I am more and more inclined towards a ball head now (perhaps a BH-55 from RRS), along with levelling base. It makes sense if I am making money with my photography to go to a gear head. The cube? I might have to sell a kidney to afford. it. I saw a video on YouTube from "Ben Horne" who is a large format shooter explaining that it is possible to have a 90 degree movement. Considering speed vs accuracy and price, ball head makes more sense.
Sreedhar
p.1 #11 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
You ask about slipage with a Arca Swiss Cube. I bought a Arca Swiss D4 geared head and was surprised to see it had no lock. This is because it does not move at all in any position. It also has the capability to move the head quickly if needed.
I’ve been doing photography professionally for over 60 years and have used a lot of different heads. My Arca Swiss D4 is the best I’ d ever used and well worth the money.
I did not buy the head for field use, but still follow Arca Swiss’s advise and keep the head off the tripod when in storeage. They make quick release plate to make mounting and taking off the head easy. When I bought the head I thought I was spending way too much for just a tripod head, but after using it a few times I realized I should have bought one years ago.
p.1 #12 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
Norm Shapiro wrote:
You ask about slipage with a Arca Swiss Cube.
Sorry, I was talking about the slippage from my previous tripod's ball-head. A Benro carbon fiber travel tripod. Can you confirm, if the Arca-Swiss D4 allows the 90 degree downward movement? From photos online, it appears so, But would you please confirm?
Edit: I checked the price afterwards.... I definitely may have to sell a kidney
p.1 #13 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
Yes it goes down 90 degrees. I bought the head back when I was doing table top photographs of fruits and vegtables and using my 105mm Nikon Z lens and focus stacking. I had been using my Acratch ball head, which like every other ball head I ‘ve used always had a bit of slip after locking it down. I started with a used D4 from KEH to save money, but it was defective and quickly returned. So I bit the bullet and bought a new D4 out of New York and was amazed how well it worked!
p.1 #14 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
Norm Shapiro wrote:
Yes it goes down 90 degrees. I bought the head back when I was doing table top photographs of fruits and vegtables and using my 105mm Nikon Z lens and focus stacking. I had been using my Acratch ball head, which like every other ball head I ‘ve used always had a bit of slip after locking it down. I started with a used D4 from KEH to save money, but it was defective and quickly returned. So I bit the bullet and bought a new D4 out of New York and was amazed how well it worked!
Thank you so much for the confirmation. Much appreciated!
Sreedhar
p.1 #15 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
That decision should be made based on the kind of shooting that you do. No one tripod head can do all well.
I've never been a fan of ball heads, but do like a tripod head that allows the camera to be flipped for portrait or landscape orientation and I use one of these heads for most shoots outside of my studio on one of my Slik 212 Pro tripods. Though not light, these tripods have proven to be very stable and rugged for me over the last 20+ years and I have three of them now. I'll carry the extra weight when it means good solid stability and capability of adjusting each leg angle out to near 90 degrees. I like a tripod with a crank up center pole and good solid lock too. These also allow attaching the head to the bottom of the center pole, allowing shoots very close to the ground (although upside down until reversed in post).
I'll use the same style heads on my camera stands when shooting much of what I shoot inside my studio in the way of portraits and other "live shots", so I can switch from portrait to landscape orientation and back easily and quickly, yet lock the head in place when needed quickly and easily.
I use camera stands in my studio more than tripods, because they are more stable when locked in place, and they require much less floor space in my already too crowded small studio. I have two Regalite 6 that I bought used and rebuilt to save considerable money over the cost of good new camera stands. Both were found on Facebook.
I use one of my geared heads when shooting still life and most product type shoots, since I can micro adjust the camera position and angle and lock it in place while shooting many layers of a "Stacked" or "composite" photo.
Figure out what you like to shoot and then get the proper head or heads for that kind of work. Don't try to make one type of head work for every kind of shoot, unless you just can't afford multiple heads. If that's the case, start with the one that will allow the most flexibility for the kind of shoot that you will mostly be doing. Assure that it has good locking capability to hold your camera on a position and go with it. You will thank me once you understand that there is no universal tripod head or tripod that does everything well. Learn what you really need in features and then buy what will work best for you and what you shoot. If you can't afford the best, buy what will get you the best possible result and plan future purchases to complement what you start with.
p.1 #16 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
CharleyL wrote:
That decision should be made based on the kind of shooting that you do. No one tripod head can do all well.
I've never been a fan of ball heads, but do like a tripod head that allows the camera to be flipped for portrait or landscape orientation and I use one of these heads for most shoots outside of my studio on one of my Slik 212 Pro tripods. Though not light, these tripods have proven to be very stable and rugged for me over the last 20+ years and I have three of them now. I'll carry the extra weight when it means good solid stability and capability of adjusting each leg angle out to near 90 degrees. I like a tripod with a crank up center pole and good solid lock too. These also allow attaching the head to the bottom of the center pole, allowing shoots very close to the ground (although upside down until reversed in post).
I'll use the same style heads on my camera stands when shooting much of what I shoot inside my studio in the way of portraits and other "live shots", so I can switch from portrait to landscape orientation and back easily and quickly, yet lock the head in place when needed quickly and easily.
I use camera stands in my studio more than tripods, because they are more stable when locked in place, and they require much less floor space in my already too crowded small studio. I have two Regalite 6 that I bought used and rebuilt to save considerable money over the cost of good new camera stands. Both were found on Facebook.
I use one of my geared heads when shooting still life and most product type shoots, since I can micro adjust the camera position and angle and lock it in place while shooting many layers of a "Stacked" or "composite" photo.
Figure out what you like to shoot and then get the proper head or heads for that kind of work. Don't try to make one type of head work for every kind of shoot, unless you just can't afford multiple heads. If that's the case, start with the one that will allow the most flexibility for the kind of shoot that you will mostly be doing. Assure that it has good locking capability to hold your camera on a position and go with it. You will thank me once you understand that there is no universal tripod head or tripod that does everything well. Learn what you really need in features and then buy what will work best for you and what you shoot. If you can't afford the best, buy what will get you the best possible result and plan future purchases to complement what you start with.
Thank you, Charley for the inputs. I am not into studio type (not a professional) photography. Mostly landscapes (with panning) and some table top photography. Yes, the more I dig into it I am realizing that no one tripod head can do all the tricks. Most likely I would have to settle on the BH-55 ball head for my needs. I understand they are not the best for highest level of stability, I have to pick and choose for my needs and be content with that.
p.1 #17 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
I used an Acratech ballhead for years, but recently switched because ballheads are a little too unconstrained for making small adjustments. I considered geared heads too, but as someone mentioned, they are too slow. So I ended up with a leveling base combined with a tilt head. I can quickly make vertical adjustment without having to re-level the head.
p.1 #18 · Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
rklee wrote:
I used an Acratech ballhead for years, but recently switched because ballheads are a little too unconstrained for making small adjustments. I considered geared heads too, but as someone mentioned, they are too slow. So I ended up with a leveling base combined with a tilt head. I can quickly make vertical adjustment without having to re-level the head.
